AP Investigates: Drinking Water Unsafe At Thousands Of Schools

September 25, 2009

This MSNBC.com report covers a recent Associated
Press investigation that found contaminated drinking water surfacing at
public and private schools in all 50 states - in small towns and inner cities
alike. The AP found water at schools across the country containing unsafe
levels of lead, pesticides and dozens of other toxins.

Roughly
one of every five schools with its own water supply (well system) violated the
Safe Drinking Water Act in the past decade, according to data from the
Environmental Protection Agency analyzed by the AP. Many of the same toxins
could also be found in water at homes, offices and businesses. But the
contaminants are especially dangerous to children, who drink more water per pound
than adults and are more vulnerable to the effects of many hazardous substances,
the report stated.

The EPA says the number of violations
spiked over the last decade largely because the government has gradually
adopted stricter standards for contaminants, such as arsenic and some
disinfectants. Still, a violation is a violation, and the EPA does not have the
authority to require testing for all schools. It can only provide guidance on
environmental practices.

According to the article, the AP
analyzed federal drinking water violations from 1998 to 2008 in schools with
their own water supplies. The findings included:

Water in
about 100 school districts and 2,250 schools breached federal safety standards.

California,
which has the most schools of any state, recorded the most violations with 612,
followed by Ohio (451), Maine (417), Connecticut (318) and Indiana (289).

The
most frequently cited contaminant was coliform bacteria, followed by lead and
copper, arsenic and nitrates.

School officials in the article say
buying bottled water is less expensive than fixing old pipes.